29/08/2017
Rise of Instant Messaging in Field Marketing Messaging
The results of research which were released today - 29th August 2017 has shown how the world of field marketing is changing to favour instant messaging instead of other more conventional methods such as email. Whilst email still remains the favourite marketing messaging method amongst consumers across the world, instant messaging is clearly becoming increasingly important in communications between brands and consumers.
The Consumer Email Report questioned 1007 people in the US, 1000 in the UK, and 3028 across Europe, and for 31% of those questioned in the UK, 28% in the US and 29% in Europe, instant messaging was the preferred brand messaging tool. This is a sizeable amount given the drastic difference in how instant messaging and email marketing work.
Email
Whilst instant messaging is obviously on the rise for marketing messaging, email is still the prefered method. In the UK, 65% said that they would rather receive brand offers through email, with 61% in the US and 63% in Europe.
The research also showed that more people opened brand marketing emails from their work email than their personal email - with only 40% in the US, 35% in Europe and 34% in the UK, of emails being opened. This is useful for marketers to know as it can help to determine which methods work best for which types of consumer.
Information
One of the most important factors for marketers to come out of the research was to cement the idea that consumers are looking for communication from businesses which is more about providing information and less about promotions. This is in line with other aspects of digital marketing, such as SEO which places a greater emphasis on providing useful information and steering away from pure, dry marketing.
Adobe Campaign`s Vice President, Stephan Dietrich, commented that the trend where the brands are accepting email marketing as a focal point for creating appealing and holistic customer experiences, many of them face a problem actually meeting the increased customer demands. He said that they continue to lead the market in providing tools that help businesses create great looking emails that improve relationships with their customers, increase brand awareness, and increase actual sales.
This shows that Adobe believe that email for marketing messaging still has legs but perhaps needs to be adapted and modernised to fit in with the wants and needs of consumers and therefore marketers.
As times change, different technology will always be a valuable tool for marketers to communicate with their consumers. This research shows how it is important for marketers to keep up to date with the latest communication methods for the most effective communication with the public.